Re: Gamefisher 7.5 217585920 Outboard Motor HELP
How do I adjust the clutch without pulling the engine apart? The manuals that I received are not the correct ones for my motor. They have helped tremendously through the other issues with motor but they don't say anything about adjusting the clutch on this 217858920 outboard. Thanks for your help brim_buster.
I have this exact same motor. Can you pull the clutch lever all the way toward the front, so it's horizontal?
Basically it's just a little pawl made out of a circular steel fitting that's ground at an angle. It just barely clears the dog on the clutch mechanism that connects between the motor and the lower unit shaft. When you pull the lever forward, the dog swings around and hits the clutch pawl, which engages the clutch. Both my clutch pawl and the clutch dog were very battered from smashing together (normal operation!), but seemed to work. Wish I still had it apart, I'd take photos and show you what it looks like.
There is no actual adjustment for the thing, BTW. In addition to the shaft that goes through the lower unit side and actuates the clutch, it also has a rod that sticks up through the bottom of the ignition plate, and makes it so that you can't start the motor in gear accidentally. It may be that you need to move the tiller throttle a bit more to clear this rod, and it will shift into gear. Hope that's the problem.
Naturally, Sears doesn't support it any more, and it's such a specialized part, I don't know where you'd find another one.
I'm one more test from giving up on my ignition, and pulling the powerhead, and putting a Harbor Freight 5.5 HP motor on the thing, and calling it good. Spent far too much time and $$ on the thing trying to get it to run. :grumpy:
Good Luck with yours!
